Machine for hermetically sealing packages



`lune 14, 1932. W, CARSON 1,862,881

MACHINE FOR HERMEITICALLY SEALING PACKAGES Filed Maron l21, lee s sheets-Sheet 1 l /5 /3 mm1/9 /5 June 14, 1932. w. H. CARSON MACHINE FOR HERMETICALLY SEALING PACKAGESA Filed March 2l, 1929 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 mnmu FIG. 7.

-Jlll'le 14, W H. CARSON' MACHINE FOR HERMETICALLY SEALING PACKAGES Filed March 2l, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 after more Patented .lune 14, 1932 FTNT WILLIAM H. CARSON, OF NORMAN, OKLAHOMA Application. led March 21, 1929. Serial No. 348,894.

This invention relates to the method of and machine of the type particularly adapted to be used in sealing packages containing popcorn or contents of like, or other nature.

rhe objects of the invention are to provide a method of and a machine of this type being either mechanically driven or hand operated for hermetically sealing and which is capable of hermetically sealing a cap or cover to a paper container, particularly a coneshaped container for pop-corn or the like, or other nature; also to providea machine that will perform this operation speedily; and which will eject the sealed container after i the operation is completed; also that will improve the construction of machines of this kind in the other respects hereinafter described and claimed; that will be new, novel, of utility, comparatively cheap and easily operated.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the construction, novel features, and combination of parts hereinfully described, illustrated in the 1 accom an ing three-sheet drawings' and y D D 7 pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size, shape, weight and minor details of construction, within the scope of my invention may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or principle of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

The novel features, invention and other i" objects will be more fully shown in the speciication, claims, and accompanying threesheet drawings, of which,

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view partly in section of a machine embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation through the cone holder and its contents showing one of the curling rollers just before coming in contact with the container. Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation through the cone holder and its contents showing one of the curling rollers in its initial contact with the edges of the paper cone and cap. Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation through the cone holder and its contents showing one of the curling rollers in position after the edges of the cone and cap have been rolled together and the package hermetically sealed. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the machine. -Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view showing holding means for curling roller arms. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the ejector incline showing its attachment to the base frame. Fig. 8 is a plan view with the upper part of the machine removed with parts in section. Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation of Fig. 8 on the line 9 9 showing the ejecting position of the cone carrier in dotted outline. Fig. 10 is a side assembly elevation of the machine on a reduced scale.

The preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated comprises generally, a frame or stand upon which the operating parts of the machine are mounted, designated by the numeral 1, the platform of table 2, of which, is

supported by a suitable number of legs 3, these parts being of wood, metal or any other suitable material. The vertically reciprocating frame 4, having a bottom cross-bar 5, provided with a hingle pin 6, is attached to a treadle 8 by the connecting rod 7. The treadle is provided with a hinge 9 and a retrieving spring 1() connected to a cross member 11 of the stand 1. The said frame 4, has side frame rods 12 slidably mounted in bushings 16, and supporting the top cross bar 13 to which said rods 12 are attached by nuts 15. In like manner the said side frame rods 12 are attached to the bottom cross bar 5 by the nuts 14.

The housing drum 17 is supported by and has in the device shown vertical reciprocation on the vertical shaft 18 provided with a supporting flange 18a at its lower extremity. rlie shaft 18 is rigidly secured to the top cross bar 13 of the vertically reciprocating frame 4 by the lock nut 19. The housing drum 17 is provided with two diametrically opposite lugs 2() which serve both to guide the vertical movement of the drum and to stop the said movement at the proper time. The guide rods 21 have reduced sections 22 at their upper extremities thus forming shoulders 23 upon which the said drum lugs 2O come to a stop and thus arrest the downward movement of the drum 17. At the lower ends of guide rods 2l are nuts 24 rigidly securing the said rods to the supporting base casting 54.

Housed within the drums 17 is the head or holding device for the plurality of curling roller arms 8l. The said head 25 is slidably mounted upon the vertical shalt 18 by means oi the hub 26, and is provided around its circumferential edge with notches or re- .ccsses 27 for a plurality of roller arms 31. rlhe said roller arms 3l are supplied with hinges 32 pivotally suitably secured to the head 25 by the circular' rod or wire 28. Any vertical motion oi the roller arms 8l is prevented by the clip 29 secured to head 25 by screw 30.

The curling roller arm 8l at a point slightly below the middle ot its length has a projection 38 which acts as a sliding tulcrum for the said arm 8l as it is pressed against the tapering surface 39 oli the base 87 of the drum 17. TBositioned at the eXtreme lower end of the roller arm 8l is the curling roller 34 rotating upon the spindle 85 and secured to the said arm 8l by the nut 86. rlhe base 37 of the drum 17 is secured to the interior of the drum by the tap bolts 38. The interior of the said base 87 is scooped out in the Yform ot a hollow trustum or" a cone, and serves as a tapering guide 39 for the roller arms 3l. The lower edge of the guide 39 extends down` ward below the lower edge of the drum as can be seen in Figs. l and 5.

rPhe thin hollow cap gripping cylinder' 40 with lower end beveled to a sharp edge is att ched to its supporting head 4l by the holding screws 42, the said supporting head 4l resting upon and held firmly but not rigidly against the supporting llange 18a oie the vertical sha1-ct 18 by the pressure spring 48, when the said cylinder 40 is in the inoperative position shown in Fig. l. Between the upper terminus of the spring 48 and the hub 26 of the head 25 is the ball bearing 44, which permits the said cap gripping cylinder 40 to rotate 'freely when the said cylinder has been lowered into gripping position as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

The vertical aligning centering pins 45, are provided with the shoulder 46 and nut 47 for rigid attachment to the supporting arm 48. The said arm 48 has the hole 49 through which is slidably mounted the drum guide rods 2l and the hole 50 for adjustable attachment to the verticali7 reciprocating frame side rods l2 by means of the set screw 5l. The tapering lower ends 52 of the centering pins 45, Vfurnish positive entering means for the said pins into the accurately located bushings 53 on the cone carrier frame 56. thus providing positive vertical alignment between the hollow Cap gripping cylinder 40 and the cone holder 62.

rllhe cone carrier frame 56 with side-wise extending, beveled edge arms 57 is slidably mounted between guides 58 upon the supporting base casting 54, the latter being attached to the table 2 by the anchor bolts 55. The guides 58 are secured to the said base 54 by the tap bolts 59. The said frame 56 is prevented from passing too l'ar to the left in the guides, as seen in Fig. 8, by the stop 60, attached to the guides 58 by the screws 6l. The revolving cone holder 62, has a large cylindrical section at the top with an outside bevel meeting the inside hollow cone cavity in a sharp edge, the mid-section 63 is much reduced in diameter and forms a long slender hollow cylinder, the bottom ont which termi nates in a short section 64 of a still smaller hollow cylinder, said last section 64 registering with a hole 64a in the cone carrier frame 56. rThe reduced mid-section 68 is provided with two sets of ball bearings and a plain bushing 66, secured by the housing 67, the latter being rigidly attached to the cone carrier frame 56 by the bolts 68, as can readily be seen in Figs. 8 and 9. ll`he friction disc 69 is securely attached to the reduced mid-section 63 of the revolving cone holder 62 by the set screw 7 0 at a point midway between the said ball bearings 65 as shown in the sectional View Fig. 9. The said friction disc 69 and attached cone holder are caused to rotate by being brought into contact with the Jfriction driving wheel 7l, secured by the set screw 72 to the drive shaft 78, the latter being actuated by an electric motor or any other suitable means. The shaft 7 3 is housed in the bearing 74, held to the base casting 54 and the table 2 by the bolts 75.

Fositioned within the hollow of the reduced mid-section 68 of the rotating cone holder 62 is the cone ejecting cylinder 76, having within its upper end a conical cavity suited to receive the pointed end of the popcorn filled paper cone 87 and approximately one-fourth of its axial length. Integral with the bottom of the cone ejecting cylinder 76 is the stem 77, of sullicient length to extend below the cone carrier frame 56 and furnish support for the retrieving spring 78 secured to the said stem 77 by the washer and pin 79, the spherical roller 8O forming the lower termination of the stem 77.

The ejector inclino 8l is positioned .near the center of the supporting bar 82 and is secured by the bolts 83 to the double angle bracket 84 and thereby to the table or base 2 by the bolts 55. The upstanding angle of the double angle bracket 84 forms a stop on the right side of the machine seen in Figs. 5 and 8 and prevents trie cone carrier frame 56 from moving too far to the right. The tap bolts 85 through the holes 86 secure the angle bracket 84 to both the guide 58 and the base casting 54.

The operation of the machine will now be described. The popcorn filled paper cone 87 surmounted by a previously formed hemispherical paper cap 88, having an eXtra flaring edge 89 suited to snugly fit down within the base of the cone, is positioned within the cone holder 62. The cone holder is moved to the left until the friction disc 69 makes con tact with the friction driving Wheel 71, giving a rotating motion to the carrier and cone. rlhe foot treadle 8 is depressed and through its connecting parts, at the very beginning of its downward movement the centering pins 45 enter their bushings 53 and position the various parts in perfect vertical alignment. 0n further depressing the treadle the vertical shaft 18 allows the drum 17 to come to a stop with its lugs 2O resting on shoulder 23 on rods 21, simultaneously the said shaft 18 carries the hollow, sharp-edged cap gripping cylinder 40 downward into close contact within the angle formed by the hemispherical cap 88 and its flaring edge 89 forcing the latter into hermetic contact with a corresponding edge of the base of the cone 87, and gripping the two securely within the sharp bevel on the edge of the cone holder 62, but leaving free a part of both edges as shown in Fig. 2. Since the cone holder is being rotated by the friction disc 69 and wheel 71 the said gripping cylinder 40 will of necessity begin to rotate upon making contact with the cone holder 62. This is provided for by the spring 43 and the ball bearing 44 which permits the said cylinder 40 to rotate as freely as the cone holder 62.

After the drum 17 the gripping cylinder has come to rest and 40 has made contact as just described, the head 25 to which the plurality of curling roller arms 31 are attached continues to move downward, and the sliding fulcrum 33 on the arm 31 guided by the taper 39 on the now stationary base 37 of the drum 17 cause the plurality of rollers 34 to make an inside roll on the taper of the cone 87 and thus rolling the edges of the cone 87 and the cap 89 together and hermetically sealing the contents of the package as seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

Upon releasing the treadle the retrieving spring 10 returns the several parts of the machine to the initial position shown in Figs. 1 and The centering pins 45 being now removed from their bushings 53 permits the cone holder 62 to be moved to the right out of contact with the friction driving wheel 71. The hermetically sealed cone is now ready to be ejected from the holder 62. rlhis is accomplished by moving the holder to the right as seen in dotted outline Fig. 9, until the ball roller on the lower end of the stem 77 mounts 'the inclined plane 81. 'This raises the cone ejecting cylinder 76 upon which the sealed cone is resting and the said cone is thus removed from the cone holder. If the action of moving the cone holder to the lping cylinder for holding a right takes place rapidly the sealed coie will be ejected with considerable force. Upon movingy the cone holder to the left out of contact with the incline 8l the spring 78 will return the ejector to its initial position for another cycle of operation as described.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is: y

1. A machine for hermetically sealing cone shaped packages comprising, a cap griphemispherical cap within. the mouth of a conical container and for inter-engaging the cap with the edge portions of the walls of the container, and meansfo-r compressing the inter-engaged portions, said compressing means contacting the upper edges of said cap and container approximately in alinement with the sides of the container.

2. A machine for hermetically sealing conical packages, comprising a cap gripping cylinder for holding a hemisphericaly cap within the mouth of a conical container and for inter-engaging the'cap with the container adjacent its upper edge, and'. means for rolling and compressing the inter-engagedv portions.

3. A machine for hermetically sealing conical packages, comprising slidable means for holding a filled container, a cap gripping cylinder for holding a cap within the mouth of saidcontainer andV for inter-engaging the cap with the container adjacent the upper edge of said container, means for rotating said cylinder and said holding means, means for compressing and rolling`v the inter-engaged portions for hermetically sealing` them together, and means for automatically ejecting the sealed container when said holding means is moved to the end of its throw.

4. Organization as described in claim 3, in which the compressing` and rolling means includes a plurality of rollers supported by arms, said arms being actuatedv to bring the rollers into contact with the edge of the cap and the container walls at an angle thereabove approximately in alinement with the wallsof the container.

, 5. A machine for hermetically sealing conical packages, embodying a base, a container holder slidably mounted laterally on said base, means for rotating` said `holder when it is at one end of its throw, said holder adapted to receive a preformed conical container with a `detached hemispherical cap therein, a vertically reciprocal frame having a top cross member, said frame supported by said base at a point adjacent said holder when said holder is positioned` for rotation, a vertical shaft rigidly mounted centrally upon and depending from said cross member in axial alinement with said holder when said holder is positioned for rotation, an open bottomed housing drum carried by said shaft,

a cap-gripping cylinder, a head for said cylinder, said cylinder and said head rotatably mounted on the lower portion of said shaft within said drum, a plurality of rollers carried by arms mounted on said shaft, and means for lowering said frame and causing said cylinder and said rollers to compress the edge portions of said cap and said container together, and causing said cylinder to rotate l@ with said holder.

6. Organization as described in claim 5, in which the said arms approach and said rollers contact Said edge portions approximately in alinement with the wall of said conical container.

7. Organization as described in claim 5, and, guide means carried by said frame for causing said cylinder to properly seat upon said cap and within said container.

8. Organization as described in claim 5, in

which the lowering means comprises a foot operable treadle supported by said base, and pivotally connected by a link to the lower member of said frame. L l0. n a machine for hermetically sealing packages, in combination, a reciprocatory frame having a shaft rigidly attached thereto, a drum, said shaft supporting' and giving motion to said drum, a plurality of roller arms, a head, said roller arms being attached to and supported by said head and enclosed by said drum, a hollow thin edged cap-gripping cylinder disposed on said shaft, a cone carrier frame slidably mounted on guides on the base of said machine, a rotating cone holder supported by said carrier :trame and adapted to co-act with said cap-gripping cylinder, rotating means on said cone holder with bearing means, a housing for said rotating and bearing means, and driving means for said cone holder.

l0. In a machine for hermetically sealing packages, in combination, a reciprocatory frame, a thin hollow cap-gripping cylinder, a rotating cone holder, means on said frame for giving alignment to said cylinder and said cone-holder, said cylinder adapted for securely holding the edges of a previously filled package and its surmounting and previously formed cap in hermetical contact, means for rotating said package and cap, a plurality of curling rollers, means for moving said curling rollers to contact with the edges of said package and said cap and to roll and seal them forming a hermetical seal inside the base of said package.

VILLIAM H. CARSON. 

